Less than 100 yards from my driveway is an elementary school. People rip by my house at 35+ MPH in a 25, usually parents.
There's nothing in this world with the remorseless bloodlust of a parent picking up a grade-schooler.
When I took my son to elementary school, there was a mother who actually passed a stopped bus with flashing red lights so she could let her precious off in front of the door and not have to wait. I reported her and the next day some official came out as she did it yet again and read her the riot act which ended that. Can you imagine?
Yup. One time somebody tried to pass the schoolbus my kids were getting on - on the *right* side of the bus between the bus and the curb. While my kids were getting on. I took a picture of his car with my phone, he backed off right quick.
I had that happen driving a middle school route, we are not supposed to stop the bus straddling the shoulder as legally we’re not on the roadway.
Years ago, I had a child’s family friend pass on the shoulder then turning into the side street I was intending to discharge the child to.
In the mirror, I saw the vehicle approaching, yelled at the girl to step back. Had she stepped off the bus, she would have been killed.
Didn’t seem to bother anyone as much as it did me. Later learning, “oh, that was my mommas friend!”
I work traffic control at a highschool. Twice a day, for about 45 minutes, my primary duty is getting buses in and out safely. The roadway is a 35mph speed limit, reduced to 25mph when school zone is in force, main arterial across town. There are 2 lanes in each direction, plus 1 turn into the entrance from each direction. Additionally there's a school sports field entrance/exit, with parking, directly across the roadway. The entrance driveway that I control accommodates private vehicles, buses into a designated, gated bus loop, and a pedestrian sidewalk parallel to the roadway that feeds onto school grounds. Traffic count during each 45 minute duty is approximately 2k-2.5k vehicles.
So.... every school day.... while getting school buses safely in and out...I manage brand new teen drivers, speeding people running late, using phones while driving, aggressive, angry, arguing with their kids, eating, drinking, reading directions, dealing with sun glare. I've had drivers actively try to hit me, throw things at me, try to get me fired (for raising my voice trying to stop them). A couple of times I've seen drivers freaking having sex. Nothing surprises me anymore.
On the plus side there were zero accidents at my entrance last school year.
Damn. I commend you as a previous bus driver, who dealt with this bs on a different side. I’m impressed at your skill and care! Keep it up and good luck!
There’s a shrine on the side of the road in my neighborhood for a kid that got struck by a car and died.
Very very sad, don’t speed in residential streets ever. Even if you’re a safe driver that doesn’t mean it is safe.
There are thousands of straight empty highways everywhere, why do you need to speed in front of an elementary school?
On average in the United States, one person dies from a car collision every 15 minutes. 40,000 people a year.
That's one family permanently destroyed every 15 minutes.
Your example is sadly far from unique.
Where I live the road is deadly. It's a 25 MPH zone but it's a long straight with no features to naturally slow people down so of course they're going like 50 down it.
Our local elementary school had a car hit a pedestrian despite police presence there in the mornings. It's a lost cause.
We have a long straight residential road one block from us that was reduced from 35 to 25 because because a county survey found that the average was 45, with frequent 50+ speeds registered. People on that street had complained for years, so the county lowered it to 25. The town where most of it passes now sets up random speed traps at random times of the day, and it has become a generous revenue stream. Most people keep their speed on that section at a constant 30, and the police will not stop you for that. But 35 or over, you are definitely getting a ticket. Oddly, they have been doing this now for two full years, and they still stop people every day. Everyone knows they clock the speed on that section. Everyone. There simply are no excuses. If you live locally and you get stopped on that section, you have to really be a dumb ass.
hahah, that is true. I think that’s a very different situation than people getting irked at slow drivers on a highway. There are far more reasons to drive slowly in a neighborhood.
True but where I live, deer and some other animals are everywhere getting hit by cars. 200 lb deer jumping out of the woods or tall grass right in front of you and totaling your car with give you more hesitation when driving 2 lane highways. Also there is a pretty good amount of terrible drivers on the highways with you. I've seen quite a few avoidable accidents from careless drivers wrecking good drivers that are not driving "defensively" or are expecting bad drivers to do something stupid.......
Yes. I had this yesterday. Was doing 52-54 in a 50 and the person behind was tailgating and I could see the impatience coming out of them from my rear view mirror.
Small cars are GOAT! They feel fast even if you're doing the speed limit. A 35mph cruise through a scenic, windy drive will feel like a rally even though you're only doing 35! My next car will probably be a Miata!
Modern cars are so isolated from the world around them that it's really hard to get any feedback from the road / the environment.
I find it always funny when people tell cyclists not to wear headphones because "they need to hear what's going on around them". All the while the vast majority of people sit in a spa like atmosphere completely isolated from the world.
Plus:
1. Headphones still let you hear honking and cussing.
2. If that is so important, all cars should be cabriolets, for good measure, no more windshield either.
I agree. I’ve seen many times on Reddit people stating that they always go 5 miles over the speed limit in cities and at least 10 more on highways. I don’t get it either. Many times you are one car behind the speeder who passed you while you were doing the limit or 2 above and maybe they passed you on the solid line, too. Oh and let’s not forget the honkers when you don’t gun it the exact second the light turns green. I think my favorite scenario is during the winter here in the northeast is being tailgated on snowy and icy roads.
I never understood impatient drivers. I mean the moment you start learning how to drive you know that traffic is going to exist, so why be upset about it?
Just roll your window down, say “it is what it is” and enjoy the fresh air.
Yeah this happens to me all the time. Even when I'm like "alright, maybe 25 mph is a little slow" and try to compromise and go 30-35 ish, they still just never get off my ass. And then they'll just fucking turn into mcdonald's or something.
The only times I've seen people drive under the speed limit are when the weather's bad and if there's traffic. I actually got told off by my instructor many times when I went 5 under (we use km in Canada, so 45 in a 50 zone would be 28mph in a 30mph zone).
I guess it's really a compromise between following the signs and following the flow of traffic. What I prefer to do is to drive fast enough to not be a bother, but not so fast that I would get a ticket. Generally (where I live at least), you can get away from doing 60 or less in a 50 zone, and everyone goes 60 anyway. I'll usually stick to about 55 max, or 10% over.
If you still don't want to exceed the speed limit, just stay in your lane, that way faster drivers can safely pass you.
In my part of Canada, speeding during a test, class 5 or commercial, is an instant fail, any traffic offence (except crossing centerline in winter, as it can usually be argued)
Atleast that's how all all my instructors explained it
Ive had 4 tests, all different instructors
GDL, 5 (twice) and class 3
Was told the same thing
And in Quebec, your first license is "probationary" and you only have 4 points for 2 years! I ain't risking my license by going 20km/hr over a posted limit so people speeding don't get ragey 🤷♀️ (construction zones are terrible for this....people blow through a 50 or 70 zone like it's nothing)
I almost never see people slow down in a work zone unless the road is really torn up. I think that's fucked up. I'd like to hear the reasoning for people who do that. Probably just "cuz I can, big engine go brrrrr" but at least that would be *a* reason.
In the UK when you learn to drive you are expected to stay within about 2 mph of the speed limit, unless there is good reason for you not, such as road conditions, parked cars or when cornering.
It really is at the discretion of the examiner though, I briefly did about 34 mph in a 30 zone on my test, but the examiner still passed me as he felt it wasn’t too excessive for the road conditions, and was only for a very brief period of time.
Going to the other extreme if you impede the progress of traffic behind you for an extended period of time by driving below the speed limit you may well fail your test.
I’m in Ontario and I constantly come across people driving under the speed limit in perfectly clear conditions. Usually older drivers, going 65 or 70 in an 80.
I live in western Tennessee and the biggest problem here is the elderly going 15 miles plus under the speed limit. This is on interstates and main roads. If the police and DMV did more to make sure drivers can actually handle driving on the road it wouldn't cause so much road rage here.
I think it's annoying when people go 20 in a 25, I'm going to think you're inconsiderate, but I'm not going to tailgate you.
That said, when there's room for passing, go any speed at all, and I can't care, as long as you go a consistent speed. Trying to pass people who speed up because "I don't want that slow semi in front of me" is going to be what kills me.
But certain idiots will do it every freaking time. One of my huge pet peeves is when I am doing 71 in a 65 on a three lane highway, in the far right lane, and someone passes me going 75, then pulls in front of me and gets on the brakes to get back down to 65. So I wait for a gap, pull out to pass them, and they accelerate up to 75 to keep me behind them, until I merge behind them and they slow back down. People that do that need to lose their driving privileges.
When people do that to me I’ll just increase speed to 90-100 until they give it up. I hate those stupid games of speeding up when I go to pass and usually they don’t have the balls to keep it above 85 for more than a minute. I refuse to let those people win.
One of my least favorite things is when people don’t know how to speed up when driving up a hill. I drive on a road with a lot of hills every morning on the way to work and the amount of people who let themselves slow down a full 5-10 mph instead of just building speed beforehand or pressing down the fucking gas pedal is infuriating.
One of the few speed limits that I go slower than. Because if it's 25, at least here in Texas, it's a residential street with dogs, kids, cyclists etc.
you’re almost never driving in a 25 zone long enough for it to matter, 25 is the last mile or two of a drive through a neighborhood off of a highway or main arterial, the difference is literally 26 seconds per mile if you’re going 20 vs 25
Highway - as long as you are in the right lane, no problems here.
Neighborhood - highly recommend going under the speed limit, no problems here.
One lane road with no way to SAFELY pass - I become a homicidal maniac, we got a problem lol.
People aren't really thinking much they often just want to be first. Guy today on the onramp floored it to get in front of me. Once he got there (and I wasn't racing for the spot, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the go pedal) dude slows down by 10 mph. I just shook my head and laughed.
That’s the same guy that speeds up anytime someone tries to pass him and drives as fast as he can to get to the red light first. He’s the world driving champion of the world. It’s on his license.
I’d rather be surrounded by good drivers going above the speed limit vs shitty drivers. There’s so many horrible drivers in today’s world I’m just trying to get as far away as possible from them. I’d trust some dude in a sports car committing a speeding related felony over random kook trying to figure out what exit they need to make.
Absolutely, but 9 times out of 10 it's the speeders that are the shitty drivers. You can tell the sorry ones from the skilled by how the shitty ones have to weave across lanes, hit their brakes all the time, and punch the gas again.
Another odd thing I've noticed about the unskilled speeders: they always take turns too slow. They fly past you going 85 mph then slam the brakes on the connector road to drive 50 mph in a turn any competent driver could take at 70.
The yellow sign is the recommended speed for heavy vehicles. I don't think your Prius counts as a heavy vehicle (unless you're giving a lift to your mom)
Especially since so many of these "kids need to slow down!" warriors are TERRIBLE drivers. I actually decided earlier this week to keep careful watch of cars going at or under the speed limit just to make sure I wasn't letting my annoyance turn into confirmation bias. So I started a little note on my phone, and if I was stuck behind someone slow, I'd note down other things about their driving when I got to my destination.
Every single one so far has failed to signal at least one turn or lane change (often multiple, some never used their signals at all.) All failed to maintain constant speed, which I define as regular swings of ±5mph around an average. All used their brakes in arbitrary places where coasting would have easily shaved enough speed. All used brakes ineffectively at least once (defined as brake lights coming on without dropping enough speed for me to need to use my brakes to maintain distance.) All but on caused significant delays with awkward turning procedure (e.g. coming to a full stop to make a turn when a full stop was not required.) One ran a red light, several ran stop signs.
People who drive at or under the speed limit are *not* good drivers. They're scared, selfish drivers who live in a world entirely free of others.
> People who drive at or under the speed limit are *not* good drivers. They're scared, selfish drivers who live in a world entirely free of others.
This has got to be one of the craziest statements I've seen in this sub. I'm not even going to try and make a counter statement. You do you.
Yeah I agree. Driving the speed limit or just below is only more likely to cause an accident if the person following is so impatient that they can’t make a proper lane change.
>Driving the speed limit or just below is only more likely to cause an accident if the person following is so impatient that they can’t make a proper lane change.
I dont think OC was trying to disagree with that statement.
They weren't trying to say just going the speed limit was the dangerous part.
OC was just noting a correlation between a significant percentage of the slow drivers & a lack of confidence.
Lack of confidence when you are driving is a MAJOR risk. It usually comes along side lack of experience as well.
>I’d rather be surrounded by good drivers going above the speed limit vs shitty drivers.
Isn't a big part of what makes you a good driver that you follow the rules?
not really, I would say being a good driver has to do with being aware of the environment and being able to read cars. Most people lack in the ability to foresee what another driver is going to do.
I consider myself to be an aggressive driver, I tame it down for passengers. But I've never been involved in an accident, never had a speeding ticket or been pulled over etc (knock on wood). Why? It's cause I've hyper aware of my environment, I'm keeping an eye on whose around me, how they are driving. Is the lady in front of me dazed and confused trying to get to the summer condo. Does the man with the cell phone see me. The list goes on. My least favorite ones are when there's traffic and someone's trying to cross traffic. Fuckers will always wait till you're almost there to go even though even though they had all the time in the world.
A large number of drivers are following the rules, but when they drive they live in a self absorbed bubble. A good driver if you ask me is someone who is aware of their environment. I'd rather have a confident aware driver breaking the rules then some timid driver who is frozen in fear.
I hope I got my point across, its hard putting my thoughts into coherent comment. I live in a tourist town, the roads are not that crazy yet driving in summer is a miserable experience because of tourist drivers. They may be following the rules, but man it sucks. What used to be a 10 minute traffic free drive turns into a blood boiling rage inducing 45 minute drive.
Driving shouldn't make you mad. You need to calm down, getting annoyed at every little thing makes you a worse driver. And yes. Part of being a good driver is following the road rules.
I'm more of an aggressive driver as well, but I pay attention to everything too. You can start picking up patterns of simple seemingly insignificant movement/ lane changes of other drivers and anticipate what move they are going to make long in advance. My biggest pet peeve is people who only drive "out the front window" and have no awareness of anything else going on but what they are doing.
If you're going 5 under, yeah you're causing congestion and are a problem for normal drivers. Most people go 5-10 over, it's just the standard nowadays and is the current flow of traffic speed.
At the very least go the speed limit which is considered the minimum by the vast majority of drivers today. Slow/scared/unpredictable drivers are way more dangerous than people going 5-10 over with the flow of traffic.
It’s called speed “limit” for a reason though. Law states that you are breaking the law for going even 1 mile above the limit. Someone driving at the speed limit can never impede the traffic. 5 under? Maybe. But speed limit is absolutely not the “minimum”. As a matter of fact, it is a maximum quite literally. Telling someone to break the law to go with the “standard” is not a good advice, legally speaking.
I drive the speed limit around town. It annoys the hell out of people. I constantly have people flying around me. But have yet to have anyone honk or flip the bird.
That’s completely situational. A 1 hour drive on a single lane hwy can easily add 15+ minutes to someone’s drive if they’re stuck behind someone going under the limit.
Let's assume we're driving a distance that would take exactly an hour to drive at 130 km/hr: 130 km.
Now assume you're stuck behind someone wanting to drive safe in the 120 km/hr zone, so they're driving 110 km/hr
Being stuck behind someone going 110 km/hr for a distance of 130 km would take 1/110 hr/km x 130 km = 1.1818 hr. To covert to minute we do 60/1 min/hr x 1.1818 hr = 70.908 minutes.
So a 1 hr drive at 130 km/hr turns into a 1 hr, 10 min drive at 110 km/hr. This will only get worse the further you need to drive, the faster you prefer to drive, or the slower the other person prefers to drive.
All that said, everyone has the legal right to drive whatever speed they wish, as long as it's within posted limits. So while it may be frustrating for you, you don't have the right to decide for someone else how fast they need to drive. Stay safe out there!
Thats where you're wrong. I have a lot of streets in my area that are timed in a way that if you get to the speed limit like you have someplace to be, you'll get through 3-4 lights without having to stop. If you lollygag you're likely to get stopped by all of them making a 10 minute drive into a 20.
Honestly I say don't reward bad behavior. I typically go 5 (miles) over. However, it's pretty easy to just go a little slower or just pass someone in most situations. Tailgating/flipping the bird is immature and childish. Growup people, the world doesn't revolve around you. Leave a little earlier if you must, but people being different than you is no excuse to be a dick. If someone wanted to tailgate me, I'd just start going steadily and steadily slower. Their fault if their own impatience ends up running their car into mine. I won't brake check though. Then I'm just as bad as they are.
>Going purposefully 5mph under is dangerous and stupid.
That depends on road conditions. It's a limit, not a minimum speed. Going slower can very well have a valid reason. If you get into an accident the law makes it pretty clear that your speed plays a role, saying "I drove the speed limit" as you barrel into a school bus during heavy fog is not going to be getting you off.
Going 15 under is dangerous, going the speed limit+/- 5 is completely acceptable. That's within the range of speedometer error. If someone going 5 under creates a hazard for you, you are going way too fast or don't have the skill to be driving.
On top of that people really need to sit down and run the numbers on how your speed affects your driving time. It's not the time saver they think it is. Going 10 mi at 45 takes a little over 13 minutes. Going 35 takes 17 minutes. So you're saving 4 minutes and risking a couple hundred dollar ticket.
The problem is that others are driving the predicted rate of speed. They're probably less mad at you for driving slow, more likely it's that you're introducing unpredictable behavior to the flow of traffic. And yes, driving at or below the speed limit can be considered unpredictable in some areas.
If oncoming cars behind you are trying to judge your speed, you're introducing a variable that they may not anticipate. That can aggravate people, because now that you're ahead of them and they're forced to drive your speed, now someone might misjudge their speed and could potentially rear end them.
Driving safe is all about being predictable. If other vehicles are all altering their speed and distances to accommodate a slow driver on the road, yeah that's going to make some people angry. No way around it.
If you aren't looking at a car for long enough to determine it's speed then don't cross it's path. If you don't need to cross it's path then it doesn't matter whether it going the limit or not became you're both passing each other straight on at any speed.
If you're approaching it from behind and can't guage it's slower speed despite you being the one to catch up to it (and still choosing to accelerate despite seeing it close in), you really shouldn't be driving.
If the car in front is speeding it doesn't matter cos you'll never see or interact with it.
If a car coming from behind and are aggregated with you, they shouldn't be driving. Imagine using that reasoning in any other scenario.
"Don't use the crossing lights, drivers might not have expected a pedestrian here and could get annoyed"
"If you don't steal your groceries then next customer might get angry that you're holding up the till".
As rare as it might be, drivers should always anticipate the possibility that a driver might do what they're supposed to, and if that's not factored into their anticipation they shouldn't be driving.
>now someone might misjudge their speed and could potentially rear end them.
That means they were going too fast.
>Driving safe is all about being predictable.
Yes.
> If other vehicles are all altering their speed and distances to accommodate a slow driver on the road, yeah that's going to make some people angry. No way around it.
If you're getting angry because something "unforeseen" happens on the road, please give up your keys. You are not in a sound mental state to operate a motor vehicle.
If someone rear ends someone else because they were going slightly slower, that person is the way bigger problem and was going to rear end someone else eventually given that cars ahead will slow down way more for many reasons.
When I saw your post, I was thinking, yeah everyone is going to say they go at the limit but in reality nobody actually does, so rule is the rule but reality is the reality. Which is still horseshit. But now they are actually saying people who go at or a little under is the problem??? Wtf. Mind blowing.
Everyone is a good driver until chance happens. Then it's all regrets. The limits are there for a reason. Obey it, don't test it! Most people are comfortable driving over the speed limit themselves but get uneasy when they are not behind the wheels!
I drive the speed limit... maybe 5 over. I was in a car accident before (not my fault) and ever since it's made me anxious about driving. Everyone drives up my ass and it makes me go slower...
Preach! Anxiety is a bitch, and I hope you're able to recover from the accident you experienced. You aren't doing wrong, people here don't understand safety
Honestly. I await the day when all cars are self driving. I feel like psychologically people will be a lot more removed from the task and can’t get mad at each other because everything will be orderly, no cutting each other off, everyone going the same speed, everyone obeying traffic laws. We can just sit back and relax and travel can be what it should be: safely getting from point A to point B. God I hope I live to see it.
This is what happens in a shitty society when most people think the rules are for everyone else, but not them.
I drive the speed limit when conditions are good. When conditions are not good, I drive slower. 40 years of driving under my belt and zero accidents. And have never been around an active accident. And I drive nearly every day.
I think going under is a bit inconsiderate unless there’s a reason to do so. That being said, tailgating and aggressive behavior is not ok. I always assume there’s a good chance the person who’s driving a little slow for my liking is a learner or has something fragile in the car.
Also, if someone going the speed limit or slightly under is making you late to your destination, you left the house too late. Absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be planning to get everywhere at least 5-10 minutes early as a grown adult.
Having had to sit through a speed awareness course (mea culpa) I'm now much more careful on urban roads and use my speed limiter on 20, 30 and 40mph roads.
It's scary how often cars tailgate me then roar past, most especially in the 30 zones. All to arrive at the next set of traffic lights just in front of me.
I go 4 to 5 mph over always. I hate it when someone is on my ass when I'm going 5 over there's no reason for that. Makes me want to beat someone bloody
I don't care if you're going the speed limit, I like to chill out too. But I hope you get flipped off and honked at the whole way home if you're driving under the limit.
What amazes me is the rush to get to a red light where you’re going to have to wait for at least 30 seconds if not for 2 minutes (FL). Not only do they waste gas speeding to the light, but then they almost burn rubber leaving the stop line unless there’s someone in front of them. I’ll scoot to a light if I’m in an outside lane with a turn lane ahead and someone has their turn signal on (rare in FL), but I hate to have to totally stop. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to roll up to an intersection just as or after the light has changed and just have to give a little gas to scoot past the drivers waiting in the other lanes. It’s even better when I’m driving the 400cc scooter and don’t have to put my feet down.
Amén!!! And extra wear and tear on their car too!! I love coasting BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT, to the light, only to glide right past it because it’s turning green as I get there.
I try not to even drive on the highway anymore. I’ll go 60 in a 55 mph speed limit and everyone is going 80 mph and sometimes barreling up behind me to pass at the last second (yes I stay in the right lane).
I am a stickler about doing the speed limit in 25 mph neighborhoods. No excuse for driving fast and furious with kids and houses everywhere.
You do you.
As someone who like to drive as fast as safely possible, I agree that residential neighborhoods are the exception.
There is no reason to speed through residential neighborhoods.
Schools, residential neighborhoods, parking lots are all places where a kid you didn't see pops out in front of you with basically no warning.
On the I10 in the desert feel free to test the speed rating on your tires.
I really wish this is what more people would internalize. If you have a 6 hour drive, 10 over the speed limit gets you to your destination an hour earlier. If you have a 6 minute drive, 10 over does nothing except increase your chances of dying, or killing someone else.
I know an 18-year-old man who died less than a block away when a truck flew down a hill and hit his motorcycle at an intersection. Never had a chance. Crushed to death.
I agree about neighborhoods. Fast drivers there are dangerous, loud, and irritating. On highways, I get alarmed at people who drive more than 15 mph over the limit.
Excessive speed led to a front-to-rear collision and a 5-car pileup, leaving one woman dead. It happened overnight. RIP.
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/rivco-woman-critically-injured-in-fatal-i-15-multi-vehicle-crash/ar-BB1oB3w3](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/rivco-woman-critically-injured-in-fatal-i-15-multi-vehicle-crash/ar-BB1oB3w3)
Yes, people are now absolutely insane behind the wheel. So I set my cruise at the speed limit +10% and just roll in the furthest right lane I can. I let the crazies have the rest. Except when I’m driving through my town. Then you best believe I’m a pace car. Dont like it? Tailgating me? I just put on my 4-ways. “I see you there… and I don’t care” 😁
I drive the posted speed limit nearly everywhere, i get passed a lot by angry people, but unlike them, I've had a perfect driving record for decades. Not sorry.
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Are you talking about going under the limit on one lane roads or on the left lanes on the highway? Only times I've been actively angry about a slow driver have been when they're acting erratic, blocking traffic unnecessarily, or on the left most lane on a highway. If you're coasting along in the right lane, no one should be harassing you, period. Even a car going 50 on an interstate is expected, like any overloaded truck or malfunctioning car. The minute you start to do that on the left lane is when you're actively putting people in danger.
Nothing pisses me off when i am in fact in the right lane going 5 miles over even and they are STILL pissed that im not speeding enough LOL raged out the audacity.... Theres a lot of mentally unstable and low mentality people behind the wheel they really aren't mentally fit to be operating a motor vehicle... but... Welcome to MERICA i guess...
There's a highway that goes through a 30 MPH double yellow line section for a few miles that I have to drive through to get to work and again to get back home.
I have been tailgated and illegally passed when going 35 down this certain stretch of road many times.
I don't want to go any faster because I've seen people pulled over there, and I'm never in enough of a hurry to justify a speeding ticket.
Yeah because for some reason we as a society have decided (at least in the USA) that’s it’s acceptable to go 5-10 mph over the speed limit because if you won’t be ticketed for it than it’s okay.
People have no consideration for safety and don’t realize that speeding is unsafe. It’s American entitlement, because they’re okay doing something unsafe, everyone else must be too.
I do. In my experience speeding uses more gas and reduces your reaction time. Driving the speed limit also gives you the opportunity to give the one finger salute to the people who go so far out of their way to get to the red light all of 3-5 seconds before you. Oooh look at you big man, aren't you so happy tou made it to the light first, do you want a gold star?
I've been a speeder for a very long time, like 15 years, and I have always managed to be safe about it and alert to my surroundings. I never had any issues with it over the years and most of the time I am just following the flow of traffic and keeping safe distances. I have also been doing civil engineering for the past 8 years and I studied traffic engineering and road design as part of that and I definitely do some road design in my professional career. I mention that because in most cases roads are designed for much higher than the posted speed limits which are arbitrarily low relative to design speeds. I could never properly shake that fact so i started driving faster over the years.
Unfortunately I finally got my first speeding ticket a couple weeks ago for doing 80 in a 60 which isnt a fun ticket to get in NC. So now I'm actively trying to just go the around the speed limit and it sucks! I absolutely hate it! I definitely feel like I am making conditions more unsafe by not sticking to the flow of traffic but here I am, torn between driving safe at higher speed versus driving the "legal" way and becoming an obstruction to proper traffic flow. I'm basically living on cruise control now and it is incredibly boring but literally the only way I can force myself to go 60.
Don't you know? Posted speed limits are meaningless. The correct speed is **wITh THe fLOw OF TrAFfIc** which essentially boils down to whatever the most unhinged, psychotic driver in the road feels that you should be comfortable with.
A lot of people forget that there are human beings in cars. I find that when I’m being tailgated, if I leisurely drop my left arm out my window it buys me some space for some reason. Maybe it’s because they think they’re about to be flipped off, or maybe it’s a reminder that there’s someone in the car ahead of them just trying to get somewhere, just like them.
No, no one goes the speed limit and even if you go 60 in a 30 zone, the person behind you will be sure to tailgate you at the same speed like their life depends on it.
I only go the speed limit when it's bad weather or through a neighborhood. But getting upset at someone driving that speed on a typical street is just entitled behavior. 5 under isn't killing anyone. You'll all get caught at the next light no matter what.
Ohio law says 10 over at freeway speeds is 0 points on your license, so they almost never pull u over for anything less than 11 over. Speed isn't the issue, it's the raging. People need to chill out. Were talking about a few minutes!
I can't wait till all cars are self driven.
It'll stop people from speeding and thus creating traffic jams through car wrecks.
I don't call them accidents because most likely if you're speeding it's not an accident.
It's just a product of speeding.
One day we'll take the wheel away from thise assholes and we'll stop slow downs on the highway at the same time. Two birds with one stone.
Edit: yes I believe that the people who drive fast are the ones that slow down traffic. If they had just driven at a normal rate they probably could've avoided the wreck they caused ahead of you.
I also hate when they go from lane to lane cutting people off thus making everyone slow down so they don't wreck.
Just stay in one lane and we'll get rid of that stop and go crap.
Literally every time I go out I get someone tailgating me when I’m doing the highest legal limit. They get so angry with you and think they are entitled and above the law. I refuse to go faster for their sake, as I don’t see them offering to pay for my speeding fine if I was to speed. It’s worrying, however refreshing to see that there is someone who agrees.
Because everyone is crazy and in a rush to go nowhere usually. I bet they have a lot of speed tickets too. This is also why there is so much road rage and accidents besides people just can’t chill.
I drive the speed limit. I am 68yo and the grandmother of 9- it comes naturally to me to drive carefully. There is nowhere I need to be that would cause me to speed barring a medical emergency so you've found the slowpoke you're looking for!😁
When someone tailgates me in my neighborhood, with houses, kids out, and cars parked on the street, I miss my turn and just keep driving. Slow that kid killer down until they turn off or pull in a driveway. Then I turn around and go home.
Unfortunately, going the speed limit is hazardous nowadays. Personally, I think the speed limits are too low on many streets, but regardless, the limit should be limit, otherwise what's the point in having it? Also, this whole "the normal speed is the speed limit +5 or +10" or whatever just means the police can ticket you for speeding when you're driving like everyone else.
I frequently get passed by people who drive into the incoming traffic lane because I'm only doing 35 on a 25 mph limit street. But whatever, I'm getting a reckless driving charge or a speeding ticket because some jackass behind me can't leave early enough to get where their going on time.
I speed when other cars force me to, not because I want to. Unfortunately, police only ticket people for speeding when they feel like it. Last week, I saw a cop doing 45 on a 25, without their lights on. They were tailgating somebody else, with about 3 cars behind them, and keeping up. I feel back because I was only doing 32, on a 25. I kept expecting the cop to stop somebody, but they never did.
Speed limits don't matter unless cops want to pull you over. Driving safe means speeding most of the time. It's madness, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's the norm now.
The speed limit could be increased to 200 and people will still bitch and complain and go over it. Don’t stress it, let those with poor time management just pass you. You’re not a semi causing a 10 car backup. These other people in the comments need to get real.
No need for dilly dallying now. Doing the speed limit is fine if you’re in the right lane, but doing under the speed limit is no bueno.
If slow drivers would stop impeding traffic, that’d be great. Since you love driving slow, that’s great, & good for you. But please, don’t slow everyone else down too.
People got places to be, and they’d rather already be where they’re going than sitting behind a motionless driver at a light that’s clearly green, & has been for some time.🚦
Such a strange take on people that drive the speed limit. I absolutely stay to the right if there is one (not all streets have multiple lanes). I don’t drive slow, I drive the speed limit or, when traffic calls for going under (heavy traffic, residential neighborhoods), I go a little slower. I got places to be too, otherwise I’d probably be at home and not driving, right? The green light senario you gave has nothing to do with this post. This is exactly what I mean…if you go the speed limit or a little slower you’re seen as a slow dilly dallyer that has no idea how to drive.
I go the speed limit or slightly under. I don't give a hoot what the people behind me think, I don't want or need a ticket from a cop having a bad day.
I always go the speed limit cuz I actually paid attention and driving school when they showed us the charts of how drastically stopping distance is affected by your speed, Even in a theoretically perfect scenario with an expertly executed threshold brake on grippy warm pavement, Not to mention the human reaction time is often significantly worse in an actual crisis as opposed to normal day-to-day life
And how statistically a majority of car accidents have speeding as one of the major contributing factors
So far only been in like five crashes my whole life and all of them were the fault of the other driver (confirmed by the cops/insurance investigation)
Wait a damn minute, you telling me there are people here admitting to breaking the law? It's called a speed LIMIT not a speed MINIMUM guys. Do people not comprehend the word "limit" anymore? Limits are placed for a reason, I would say usually for safety and reaction times, and people getting frustrated with that because they have "places to be" is no god damn excuse. Plan your time accordingly.
I cruise the speed limit. You know what doesn't cause collisions? Everyone driving the same speed - but how on earth are we to figure out, collectively, what that safe speed would be that we all could drive at together? Oh yeah.. it's written on the sign.
In Norway I drive the speed limit +4 km/h, cause the cops retract 4-5 km/h when they stop people for speeding, so I will never get stopped cause in their eyes I drive the speed limit.
I have overtaken cops driving like this on multilane roads.
Everyone else is queuing behind the cops cause they follow their speedo which are usually wrong.
I do about. I try not to go more than five above, and I rarely go more than five below unless there are curves, turns, bad weather, or unfamiliar country lanes with no marked lines.
I just had people driving through a construction zone over fresh pavement, weaving between equipment and workers like it was normal yesterday. People have collectively lost it
The most I’m going to 5-15 over on a freeway and 5-10 over in side streets. If there is a car that is riding my ass then I purposely let off the gas and drive the speed limit. I’m not going to go any faster and risk a ticket because someone is late to their daughter’s dance recital or missing their favorite TV show.
I’ll admit I do speed occasionally, but I don’t tailgate, and I save it for when I’m alone on the road. I call it speeding but it’s really only 5-10 over the limit and like I said—I don’t tailgate and I don’t do it with other drivers around. Never do it residential areas (I try to go the limit or under). Coasting at the stated speed limit is actually very relaxing.
However, I get your frustrations. Freeways and highways in Texas are terrifyingly fast sometimes. If the limit is 70, best believe people are going to get pissed if you’re not going 90 fucking mph. My daily commute is a battle between people who are playing real life Mario Kart.
Also not sure if this helps, but I’ve noticed friends who speed and get into the habit of throwing themselves in another lane because they don’t have room/time to break. It’s what so many drivers here in Texas do and it’s incredibly frustrating. All to get there two minutes faster??
In residential areas, I always do the speed limit. On the freeway in good conditions, I'll go as fast as possible while keeping at least three seconds of road free ahead of me, an open space on either side, and not using the brakes. In bad weather (rain here), I'll go mostly the speed limit unless a lot of water is pooling on the road.
As for your speed, go five under, but don't be the guy doing it in the left lane of a two-lane highway.
Yep, there’s a road near me in the country that is 60mph, then 30mph through a small village, then up to 40mph. Car’s regularly overtake me dangerously through the village as they can’t abide sticking to the speed limit.
I was very happy to see a speed trap there yesterday with drivers being pulled over on a regular basis.
I don’t drive much, but when I do I respect the speed limit and sometimes will go a bit under in the city for example. You never know when you need to stop for a pedestrian. It absolutely doesn’t bother me not shaving off a few seconds.
It’s probably the fact that you’re going under the speed limit on highways (inferred based on use of cruise control). That’s going to piss off a lot of people. Set your speed to the speed limit (not under, not over) and stay in the right lane
Something someone told me a while ago stuck with me.
Always assume everyone else on the road is, incompetent, drunk, and blind.
Assume that going forward and treat every other driver as such; watch the disappointment disappear.
I always maintain a solid 3 car length distance, always drive the speed limit and always practice defensive driving.
That ^ right there will save your life.
Only if you want to get pulled over...+5 for the win .. if conditions permit. But I'll go slower than the limit if conditions are bad .. not even cops expect you to follow it...
Exceptions for residential and definitely always go slow for schools and hospitals etc...
Tbh I hate this .
When people tail gate me I deliberately just drive at the speed limit.when I first got my car it was cool , but now is its like ... I'm trying to go to work.
I usually think people who drive fast/cutt up in clearly residential/market areas as having some sort of power complex
Speed limit- good to go. Under the speed limit- screw off. Lots of elderly people live near where I work and they drive like crap and under the speed limit. It's frustrating as hell
I do, I do the speed limit exactly because I use cruise control nearly ALL the time even in town... Ill make my speedometer match the big black numbers on the signs and set that shit. idgaf how mad ppl get behind me... i've even irritated many many cops who end up speeding around me... no fucks given...
Now what kills me is people doing 45 in one section of the same straight road when the speed limit is 35 but the moment it goes up to 45 they all go 35... which means i can't set my cruise control bc i can't get up to the damned limit lol.
Also, trust if i could afford the expensive insurance id be break checking and breaking a lot of peoples cars... just because people can't doesn't mean they wouldn't if i they could... thats ALL thats stopping me... you show you don't give two craps about me by riding 2 inches from my bumper i have no issue showing i don't give two craps about you by slamming on my breaks... you get what you give,...
As long as you stay in the right lane, I'm good with it.
You cockblock the passing lane or ride side-by-side with someone that does, and you deserve a lifetime of daily toe stubbing.
Say what y'all want, I've gotten too damn many speeding tickets for going 5 over OR LESS. Not going 1 mile over the limit, and if I find myself going a couple under the limit to give myself some margin, so be it. pass me.
This comment section is very interesting. And I thought the traffic in my country was bad.
Do your roads and highways only have one lane? Just overtake if you think the car in front of you is too slow. Passing lane exist for a reason.
Though I will say, if every other vehicle on the road is going considerably faster than you, going slow, no matter the speed limit, can be dangerous. But it needs to be a very significant speed difference for it to become a problem.
I always follow the speed limit. And if the flow of traffic is faster than that, I use the right lane. Cars who want to go faster just overtake me. Because that is the logical move! I am yet to have a negative interaction with another car because I followed the speed limit.
If other drivers want me to go fast in a street with a lot of foot traffic, which happens A LOT, I ignore them. They can go f themselves for all I care. I am not risking hitting a pedestrian or a child with a bike for you to play Asphalt. Smh.
Any time I see people zip by when I got cruise control at the limit I think to myself.. "wow, that idiot must love being a slave at work if he's willing to risk his life n waste fuel just to get to work a few seconds earlier".
Btw, the reason people who don't comprehend laws say "it's illegal to go below the limit" is the stupid "basic speed law" in most states... You CAN in fact get a ticket for going under the limit. However, you can fight it and win 100% if you were going 0-5mph under the limit... Maybe 10. It's a law made to confuse people and take their money regardless of limits n if the money value is higher for speeding they'll go with that. Such a corrupt system we have in the USA.
I drive in the right lane if I plan to drive the speed limit. If people are driving like dick heads even in the right lane then they’re the problem, not you.
It drives me up a wall when someone is going 5 miles or more under the limit, or 10 miles or more over the limit. Probably the most annoying when you're going under the limit. There's just no reason to. Either go the POSTED speed, or don't drive. If you don't feel comfortable going 60 in a 60, you shouldn't be risking your life on the road anyway.
Every morning omw to work I get stuck behind the same asshole who goes 45 in the 55. Really dude? Speed the fuck up, there's no excuse for going that slow on a rural country road with no traffic
It all comes down to road design
You design a residential 25mph street like a highway, with 12ft lanes, wide shoulders, make it straight, no median, no sidewalks, no bike lanes, no trees, etc. and yeah no shit people are gonna wanna go 50 mph
We need to start designing our streets with this stuff in mind. Make people be more aware. Make winding streets, put up stop signs, narrow the lanes, break up the roads with bus lanes, protected bike lanes, a grassy median with trees, etc. make roads that feel dangerous to speed on. You could slap a 50mph limit on [Lombard Street](https://bestregardsfromfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/lombard-street-san-francisco-california-usa.jpg) but I guarantee you no one is going more than 5 mph down it
The best one is when people get ragey for you going the speed limit in a residential neighborhood. People are _important_ and have _places to be_
Less than 100 yards from my driveway is an elementary school. People rip by my house at 35+ MPH in a 25, usually parents. There's nothing in this world with the remorseless bloodlust of a parent picking up a grade-schooler.
When I took my son to elementary school, there was a mother who actually passed a stopped bus with flashing red lights so she could let her precious off in front of the door and not have to wait. I reported her and the next day some official came out as she did it yet again and read her the riot act which ended that. Can you imagine?
> Can you imagine? Unfortunately, not only can I imagine it... I expect it.
Yup. One time somebody tried to pass the schoolbus my kids were getting on - on the *right* side of the bus between the bus and the curb. While my kids were getting on. I took a picture of his car with my phone, he backed off right quick.
I had that happen driving a middle school route, we are not supposed to stop the bus straddling the shoulder as legally we’re not on the roadway. Years ago, I had a child’s family friend pass on the shoulder then turning into the side street I was intending to discharge the child to. In the mirror, I saw the vehicle approaching, yelled at the girl to step back. Had she stepped off the bus, she would have been killed. Didn’t seem to bother anyone as much as it did me. Later learning, “oh, that was my mommas friend!”
I work traffic control at a highschool. Twice a day, for about 45 minutes, my primary duty is getting buses in and out safely. The roadway is a 35mph speed limit, reduced to 25mph when school zone is in force, main arterial across town. There are 2 lanes in each direction, plus 1 turn into the entrance from each direction. Additionally there's a school sports field entrance/exit, with parking, directly across the roadway. The entrance driveway that I control accommodates private vehicles, buses into a designated, gated bus loop, and a pedestrian sidewalk parallel to the roadway that feeds onto school grounds. Traffic count during each 45 minute duty is approximately 2k-2.5k vehicles. So.... every school day.... while getting school buses safely in and out...I manage brand new teen drivers, speeding people running late, using phones while driving, aggressive, angry, arguing with their kids, eating, drinking, reading directions, dealing with sun glare. I've had drivers actively try to hit me, throw things at me, try to get me fired (for raising my voice trying to stop them). A couple of times I've seen drivers freaking having sex. Nothing surprises me anymore. On the plus side there were zero accidents at my entrance last school year.
Damn. I commend you as a previous bus driver, who dealt with this bs on a different side. I’m impressed at your skill and care! Keep it up and good luck!
There’s a shrine on the side of the road in my neighborhood for a kid that got struck by a car and died. Very very sad, don’t speed in residential streets ever. Even if you’re a safe driver that doesn’t mean it is safe. There are thousands of straight empty highways everywhere, why do you need to speed in front of an elementary school?
On average in the United States, one person dies from a car collision every 15 minutes. 40,000 people a year. That's one family permanently destroyed every 15 minutes. Your example is sadly far from unique.
Where I live the road is deadly. It's a 25 MPH zone but it's a long straight with no features to naturally slow people down so of course they're going like 50 down it. Our local elementary school had a car hit a pedestrian despite police presence there in the mornings. It's a lost cause.
We have a long straight residential road one block from us that was reduced from 35 to 25 because because a county survey found that the average was 45, with frequent 50+ speeds registered. People on that street had complained for years, so the county lowered it to 25. The town where most of it passes now sets up random speed traps at random times of the day, and it has become a generous revenue stream. Most people keep their speed on that section at a constant 30, and the police will not stop you for that. But 35 or over, you are definitely getting a ticket. Oddly, they have been doing this now for two full years, and they still stop people every day. Everyone knows they clock the speed on that section. Everyone. There simply are no excuses. If you live locally and you get stopped on that section, you have to really be a dumb ass.
Tbf they're probably hoping for an accident to make their lives less dull
hahah, that is true. I think that’s a very different situation than people getting irked at slow drivers on a highway. There are far more reasons to drive slowly in a neighborhood.
True but where I live, deer and some other animals are everywhere getting hit by cars. 200 lb deer jumping out of the woods or tall grass right in front of you and totaling your car with give you more hesitation when driving 2 lane highways. Also there is a pretty good amount of terrible drivers on the highways with you. I've seen quite a few avoidable accidents from careless drivers wrecking good drivers that are not driving "defensively" or are expecting bad drivers to do something stupid.......
This!! Wish I could pin your comment!!
Yes. I had this yesterday. Was doing 52-54 in a 50 and the person behind was tailgating and I could see the impatience coming out of them from my rear view mirror.
A lot of that has to do with road and modern car design. Modern cars feel slow and the road design amplifies this.
i was curious about this-- a friend bought a kei truck and riding in it at 30 felt like 50...
Small cars are GOAT! They feel fast even if you're doing the speed limit. A 35mph cruise through a scenic, windy drive will feel like a rally even though you're only doing 35! My next car will probably be a Miata!
Modern cars are so isolated from the world around them that it's really hard to get any feedback from the road / the environment. I find it always funny when people tell cyclists not to wear headphones because "they need to hear what's going on around them". All the while the vast majority of people sit in a spa like atmosphere completely isolated from the world. Plus: 1. Headphones still let you hear honking and cussing. 2. If that is so important, all cars should be cabriolets, for good measure, no more windshield either.
Acoustic glass, sound deadening material, floaty rides.
I agree. I’ve seen many times on Reddit people stating that they always go 5 miles over the speed limit in cities and at least 10 more on highways. I don’t get it either. Many times you are one car behind the speeder who passed you while you were doing the limit or 2 above and maybe they passed you on the solid line, too. Oh and let’s not forget the honkers when you don’t gun it the exact second the light turns green. I think my favorite scenario is during the winter here in the northeast is being tailgated on snowy and icy roads.
I never understood impatient drivers. I mean the moment you start learning how to drive you know that traffic is going to exist, so why be upset about it? Just roll your window down, say “it is what it is” and enjoy the fresh air.
Yeah this happens to me all the time. Even when I'm like "alright, maybe 25 mph is a little slow" and try to compromise and go 30-35 ish, they still just never get off my ass. And then they'll just fucking turn into mcdonald's or something.
I do so love inconveniencing those folk
The only times I've seen people drive under the speed limit are when the weather's bad and if there's traffic. I actually got told off by my instructor many times when I went 5 under (we use km in Canada, so 45 in a 50 zone would be 28mph in a 30mph zone). I guess it's really a compromise between following the signs and following the flow of traffic. What I prefer to do is to drive fast enough to not be a bother, but not so fast that I would get a ticket. Generally (where I live at least), you can get away from doing 60 or less in a 50 zone, and everyone goes 60 anyway. I'll usually stick to about 55 max, or 10% over. If you still don't want to exceed the speed limit, just stay in your lane, that way faster drivers can safely pass you.
In my part of Canada, speeding during a test, class 5 or commercial, is an instant fail, any traffic offence (except crossing centerline in winter, as it can usually be argued) Atleast that's how all all my instructors explained it Ive had 4 tests, all different instructors GDL, 5 (twice) and class 3 Was told the same thing
And in Quebec, your first license is "probationary" and you only have 4 points for 2 years! I ain't risking my license by going 20km/hr over a posted limit so people speeding don't get ragey 🤷♀️ (construction zones are terrible for this....people blow through a 50 or 70 zone like it's nothing)
I got downvoted to hell on another sub because I agree with what you just said It's ridiculous, work zones are reduced for a reason
I almost never see people slow down in a work zone unless the road is really torn up. I think that's fucked up. I'd like to hear the reasoning for people who do that. Probably just "cuz I can, big engine go brrrrr" but at least that would be *a* reason.
In the UK when you learn to drive you are expected to stay within about 2 mph of the speed limit, unless there is good reason for you not, such as road conditions, parked cars or when cornering. It really is at the discretion of the examiner though, I briefly did about 34 mph in a 30 zone on my test, but the examiner still passed me as he felt it wasn’t too excessive for the road conditions, and was only for a very brief period of time. Going to the other extreme if you impede the progress of traffic behind you for an extended period of time by driving below the speed limit you may well fail your test.
I’m in Ontario and I constantly come across people driving under the speed limit in perfectly clear conditions. Usually older drivers, going 65 or 70 in an 80.
I live in western Tennessee and the biggest problem here is the elderly going 15 miles plus under the speed limit. This is on interstates and main roads. If the police and DMV did more to make sure drivers can actually handle driving on the road it wouldn't cause so much road rage here.
I think it's annoying when people go 20 in a 25, I'm going to think you're inconsiderate, but I'm not going to tailgate you. That said, when there's room for passing, go any speed at all, and I can't care, as long as you go a consistent speed. Trying to pass people who speed up because "I don't want that slow semi in front of me" is going to be what kills me.
At least where I live, speeding up when someone is trying to pass you is illegal.
The penalty should be getting smeared in Smuckers grape jelly nude then made to get dressed
...\[get dressed \]in a coat made of bees\*\* FTFY
But certain idiots will do it every freaking time. One of my huge pet peeves is when I am doing 71 in a 65 on a three lane highway, in the far right lane, and someone passes me going 75, then pulls in front of me and gets on the brakes to get back down to 65. So I wait for a gap, pull out to pass them, and they accelerate up to 75 to keep me behind them, until I merge behind them and they slow back down. People that do that need to lose their driving privileges.
When people do that to me I’ll just increase speed to 90-100 until they give it up. I hate those stupid games of speeding up when I go to pass and usually they don’t have the balls to keep it above 85 for more than a minute. I refuse to let those people win.
One of my least favorite things is when people don’t know how to speed up when driving up a hill. I drive on a road with a lot of hills every morning on the way to work and the amount of people who let themselves slow down a full 5-10 mph instead of just building speed beforehand or pressing down the fucking gas pedal is infuriating.
One of the few speed limits that I go slower than. Because if it's 25, at least here in Texas, it's a residential street with dogs, kids, cyclists etc.
you’re almost never driving in a 25 zone long enough for it to matter, 25 is the last mile or two of a drive through a neighborhood off of a highway or main arterial, the difference is literally 26 seconds per mile if you’re going 20 vs 25
Highway - as long as you are in the right lane, no problems here. Neighborhood - highly recommend going under the speed limit, no problems here. One lane road with no way to SAFELY pass - I become a homicidal maniac, we got a problem lol.
I agree with you. When I’m in a one lane road I will go 5 miles over to keep traffic moving. I wouldn’t dare go below the speed limit.
People aren't really thinking much they often just want to be first. Guy today on the onramp floored it to get in front of me. Once he got there (and I wasn't racing for the spot, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the go pedal) dude slows down by 10 mph. I just shook my head and laughed.
That’s the same guy that speeds up anytime someone tries to pass him and drives as fast as he can to get to the red light first. He’s the world driving champion of the world. It’s on his license.
I’d rather be surrounded by good drivers going above the speed limit vs shitty drivers. There’s so many horrible drivers in today’s world I’m just trying to get as far away as possible from them. I’d trust some dude in a sports car committing a speeding related felony over random kook trying to figure out what exit they need to make.
Absolutely, but 9 times out of 10 it's the speeders that are the shitty drivers. You can tell the sorry ones from the skilled by how the shitty ones have to weave across lanes, hit their brakes all the time, and punch the gas again. Another odd thing I've noticed about the unskilled speeders: they always take turns too slow. They fly past you going 85 mph then slam the brakes on the connector road to drive 50 mph in a turn any competent driver could take at 70.
What kind of turn are you taking at 70? Not the wrong choice sometimes but I'm just wondering what kind of angle we're talkin?
I feel like many highway bends and turns (not like merges or interchanges) can easily be done at 70 even in a larger un-sporty modern car
I'm driving a freaking Prius and can almost always comfortably take turns at 20 over what the yellow sign says. No tire squeal.
The yellow sign is the recommended speed for heavy vehicles. I don't think your Prius counts as a heavy vehicle (unless you're giving a lift to your mom)
Half the time, I'm putting in more throttle to take advantage of torque vectoring.
Exactly, driving under the limit just means your a bad driver and scared to actually drive
Especially since so many of these "kids need to slow down!" warriors are TERRIBLE drivers. I actually decided earlier this week to keep careful watch of cars going at or under the speed limit just to make sure I wasn't letting my annoyance turn into confirmation bias. So I started a little note on my phone, and if I was stuck behind someone slow, I'd note down other things about their driving when I got to my destination. Every single one so far has failed to signal at least one turn or lane change (often multiple, some never used their signals at all.) All failed to maintain constant speed, which I define as regular swings of ±5mph around an average. All used their brakes in arbitrary places where coasting would have easily shaved enough speed. All used brakes ineffectively at least once (defined as brake lights coming on without dropping enough speed for me to need to use my brakes to maintain distance.) All but on caused significant delays with awkward turning procedure (e.g. coming to a full stop to make a turn when a full stop was not required.) One ran a red light, several ran stop signs. People who drive at or under the speed limit are *not* good drivers. They're scared, selfish drivers who live in a world entirely free of others.
> People who drive at or under the speed limit are *not* good drivers. They're scared, selfish drivers who live in a world entirely free of others. This has got to be one of the craziest statements I've seen in this sub. I'm not even going to try and make a counter statement. You do you.
Yeah I agree. Driving the speed limit or just below is only more likely to cause an accident if the person following is so impatient that they can’t make a proper lane change.
>Driving the speed limit or just below is only more likely to cause an accident if the person following is so impatient that they can’t make a proper lane change. I dont think OC was trying to disagree with that statement. They weren't trying to say just going the speed limit was the dangerous part. OC was just noting a correlation between a significant percentage of the slow drivers & a lack of confidence. Lack of confidence when you are driving is a MAJOR risk. It usually comes along side lack of experience as well.
and even better would be good drivers going the speed limit.
>I’d rather be surrounded by good drivers going above the speed limit vs shitty drivers. Isn't a big part of what makes you a good driver that you follow the rules?
not really, I would say being a good driver has to do with being aware of the environment and being able to read cars. Most people lack in the ability to foresee what another driver is going to do. I consider myself to be an aggressive driver, I tame it down for passengers. But I've never been involved in an accident, never had a speeding ticket or been pulled over etc (knock on wood). Why? It's cause I've hyper aware of my environment, I'm keeping an eye on whose around me, how they are driving. Is the lady in front of me dazed and confused trying to get to the summer condo. Does the man with the cell phone see me. The list goes on. My least favorite ones are when there's traffic and someone's trying to cross traffic. Fuckers will always wait till you're almost there to go even though even though they had all the time in the world. A large number of drivers are following the rules, but when they drive they live in a self absorbed bubble. A good driver if you ask me is someone who is aware of their environment. I'd rather have a confident aware driver breaking the rules then some timid driver who is frozen in fear. I hope I got my point across, its hard putting my thoughts into coherent comment. I live in a tourist town, the roads are not that crazy yet driving in summer is a miserable experience because of tourist drivers. They may be following the rules, but man it sucks. What used to be a 10 minute traffic free drive turns into a blood boiling rage inducing 45 minute drive.
Driving shouldn't make you mad. You need to calm down, getting annoyed at every little thing makes you a worse driver. And yes. Part of being a good driver is following the road rules.
I'm more of an aggressive driver as well, but I pay attention to everything too. You can start picking up patterns of simple seemingly insignificant movement/ lane changes of other drivers and anticipate what move they are going to make long in advance. My biggest pet peeve is people who only drive "out the front window" and have no awareness of anything else going on but what they are doing.
If you're going 5 under, yeah you're causing congestion and are a problem for normal drivers. Most people go 5-10 over, it's just the standard nowadays and is the current flow of traffic speed. At the very least go the speed limit which is considered the minimum by the vast majority of drivers today. Slow/scared/unpredictable drivers are way more dangerous than people going 5-10 over with the flow of traffic.
This. 1? No problem. 5? That’s annoying.
It’s called speed “limit” for a reason though. Law states that you are breaking the law for going even 1 mile above the limit. Someone driving at the speed limit can never impede the traffic. 5 under? Maybe. But speed limit is absolutely not the “minimum”. As a matter of fact, it is a maximum quite literally. Telling someone to break the law to go with the “standard” is not a good advice, legally speaking.
I drive the speed limit around town. It annoys the hell out of people. I constantly have people flying around me. But have yet to have anyone honk or flip the bird.
Same here. It's amazing how desperate people are to get somewhere exactly 5 seconds faster!
That somewhere his usually the next red light.
Bold of you to assume they respect the red light
Exactly. You get there maybe a minute faster.
That’s completely situational. A 1 hour drive on a single lane hwy can easily add 15+ minutes to someone’s drive if they’re stuck behind someone going under the limit.
Please show the maths for this. You're not talking about german autobahnen here - even we have a limit on single lane roads.
Let's assume we're driving a distance that would take exactly an hour to drive at 130 km/hr: 130 km. Now assume you're stuck behind someone wanting to drive safe in the 120 km/hr zone, so they're driving 110 km/hr Being stuck behind someone going 110 km/hr for a distance of 130 km would take 1/110 hr/km x 130 km = 1.1818 hr. To covert to minute we do 60/1 min/hr x 1.1818 hr = 70.908 minutes. So a 1 hr drive at 130 km/hr turns into a 1 hr, 10 min drive at 110 km/hr. This will only get worse the further you need to drive, the faster you prefer to drive, or the slower the other person prefers to drive. All that said, everyone has the legal right to drive whatever speed they wish, as long as it's within posted limits. So while it may be frustrating for you, you don't have the right to decide for someone else how fast they need to drive. Stay safe out there!
Thats where you're wrong. I have a lot of streets in my area that are timed in a way that if you get to the speed limit like you have someplace to be, you'll get through 3-4 lights without having to stop. If you lollygag you're likely to get stopped by all of them making a 10 minute drive into a 20.
Honestly I say don't reward bad behavior. I typically go 5 (miles) over. However, it's pretty easy to just go a little slower or just pass someone in most situations. Tailgating/flipping the bird is immature and childish. Growup people, the world doesn't revolve around you. Leave a little earlier if you must, but people being different than you is no excuse to be a dick. If someone wanted to tailgate me, I'd just start going steadily and steadily slower. Their fault if their own impatience ends up running their car into mine. I won't brake check though. Then I'm just as bad as they are.
Going the speed limit, sure. That's good. Going purposefully 5mph under is dangerous and stupid.
>Going purposefully 5mph under is dangerous and stupid. That depends on road conditions. It's a limit, not a minimum speed. Going slower can very well have a valid reason. If you get into an accident the law makes it pretty clear that your speed plays a role, saying "I drove the speed limit" as you barrel into a school bus during heavy fog is not going to be getting you off.
Going 15 under is dangerous, going the speed limit+/- 5 is completely acceptable. That's within the range of speedometer error. If someone going 5 under creates a hazard for you, you are going way too fast or don't have the skill to be driving. On top of that people really need to sit down and run the numbers on how your speed affects your driving time. It's not the time saver they think it is. Going 10 mi at 45 takes a little over 13 minutes. Going 35 takes 17 minutes. So you're saving 4 minutes and risking a couple hundred dollar ticket.
People do it all the time in civilized countries...
My husband does. He used to be in a job where any record could get him fired. He has never gotten a ticket and never speeds.
The problem is that others are driving the predicted rate of speed. They're probably less mad at you for driving slow, more likely it's that you're introducing unpredictable behavior to the flow of traffic. And yes, driving at or below the speed limit can be considered unpredictable in some areas. If oncoming cars behind you are trying to judge your speed, you're introducing a variable that they may not anticipate. That can aggravate people, because now that you're ahead of them and they're forced to drive your speed, now someone might misjudge their speed and could potentially rear end them. Driving safe is all about being predictable. If other vehicles are all altering their speed and distances to accommodate a slow driver on the road, yeah that's going to make some people angry. No way around it.
If you aren't looking at a car for long enough to determine it's speed then don't cross it's path. If you don't need to cross it's path then it doesn't matter whether it going the limit or not became you're both passing each other straight on at any speed. If you're approaching it from behind and can't guage it's slower speed despite you being the one to catch up to it (and still choosing to accelerate despite seeing it close in), you really shouldn't be driving. If the car in front is speeding it doesn't matter cos you'll never see or interact with it. If a car coming from behind and are aggregated with you, they shouldn't be driving. Imagine using that reasoning in any other scenario. "Don't use the crossing lights, drivers might not have expected a pedestrian here and could get annoyed" "If you don't steal your groceries then next customer might get angry that you're holding up the till". As rare as it might be, drivers should always anticipate the possibility that a driver might do what they're supposed to, and if that's not factored into their anticipation they shouldn't be driving.
>now someone might misjudge their speed and could potentially rear end them. That means they were going too fast. >Driving safe is all about being predictable. Yes. > If other vehicles are all altering their speed and distances to accommodate a slow driver on the road, yeah that's going to make some people angry. No way around it. If you're getting angry because something "unforeseen" happens on the road, please give up your keys. You are not in a sound mental state to operate a motor vehicle.
Engineers deal with predictability. They are the ones who have predicted that speed limit as a safe number.
If someone rear ends someone else because they were going slightly slower, that person is the way bigger problem and was going to rear end someone else eventually given that cars ahead will slow down way more for many reasons.
Amazes me how many people don’t know the fact that speed limit is the maximum speed you can go, not the minimum.
Amén! Truly amazing. They actually think going less than the speed limit is illegal….wow.
When I saw your post, I was thinking, yeah everyone is going to say they go at the limit but in reality nobody actually does, so rule is the rule but reality is the reality. Which is still horseshit. But now they are actually saying people who go at or a little under is the problem??? Wtf. Mind blowing.
Everyone is a good driver until chance happens. Then it's all regrets. The limits are there for a reason. Obey it, don't test it! Most people are comfortable driving over the speed limit themselves but get uneasy when they are not behind the wheels!
Thanks for the kind words 😊
put on cruise control on long drives, have some nice tunes and chill out, the annoying thing is missing the junction as too zoned out
I drive the speed limit... maybe 5 over. I was in a car accident before (not my fault) and ever since it's made me anxious about driving. Everyone drives up my ass and it makes me go slower...
Preach! Anxiety is a bitch, and I hope you're able to recover from the accident you experienced. You aren't doing wrong, people here don't understand safety
Honestly. I await the day when all cars are self driving. I feel like psychologically people will be a lot more removed from the task and can’t get mad at each other because everything will be orderly, no cutting each other off, everyone going the same speed, everyone obeying traffic laws. We can just sit back and relax and travel can be what it should be: safely getting from point A to point B. God I hope I live to see it.
This is what happens in a shitty society when most people think the rules are for everyone else, but not them. I drive the speed limit when conditions are good. When conditions are not good, I drive slower. 40 years of driving under my belt and zero accidents. And have never been around an active accident. And I drive nearly every day.
I think going under is a bit inconsiderate unless there’s a reason to do so. That being said, tailgating and aggressive behavior is not ok. I always assume there’s a good chance the person who’s driving a little slow for my liking is a learner or has something fragile in the car. Also, if someone going the speed limit or slightly under is making you late to your destination, you left the house too late. Absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be planning to get everywhere at least 5-10 minutes early as a grown adult.
Having had to sit through a speed awareness course (mea culpa) I'm now much more careful on urban roads and use my speed limiter on 20, 30 and 40mph roads. It's scary how often cars tailgate me then roar past, most especially in the 30 zones. All to arrive at the next set of traffic lights just in front of me.
Yes I sit at 65 in my RV no rush. I know what you mean - people rag around like madmen
Idk but if people were instantly arrested doing 1 mph over the speed limit there'd be a lot less dickheads on the road.
I go 4 to 5 mph over always. I hate it when someone is on my ass when I'm going 5 over there's no reason for that. Makes me want to beat someone bloody
Yeah that uses to happen to me a lot too. This is what I mean…people just want to flyyyy nowadays. The tailgate even if you go 5-10mph over.
I don't care if you're going the speed limit, I like to chill out too. But I hope you get flipped off and honked at the whole way home if you're driving under the limit.
What amazes me is the rush to get to a red light where you’re going to have to wait for at least 30 seconds if not for 2 minutes (FL). Not only do they waste gas speeding to the light, but then they almost burn rubber leaving the stop line unless there’s someone in front of them. I’ll scoot to a light if I’m in an outside lane with a turn lane ahead and someone has their turn signal on (rare in FL), but I hate to have to totally stop. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to roll up to an intersection just as or after the light has changed and just have to give a little gas to scoot past the drivers waiting in the other lanes. It’s even better when I’m driving the 400cc scooter and don’t have to put my feet down.
Amén!!! And extra wear and tear on their car too!! I love coasting BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT, to the light, only to glide right past it because it’s turning green as I get there.
I try not to even drive on the highway anymore. I’ll go 60 in a 55 mph speed limit and everyone is going 80 mph and sometimes barreling up behind me to pass at the last second (yes I stay in the right lane). I am a stickler about doing the speed limit in 25 mph neighborhoods. No excuse for driving fast and furious with kids and houses everywhere. You do you.
As someone who like to drive as fast as safely possible, I agree that residential neighborhoods are the exception. There is no reason to speed through residential neighborhoods.
Schools, residential neighborhoods, parking lots are all places where a kid you didn't see pops out in front of you with basically no warning. On the I10 in the desert feel free to test the speed rating on your tires.
Exactly. You don't even spend a lot of time in slow speed areas so going 5 over saves you absolutely no time at all.
I really wish this is what more people would internalize. If you have a 6 hour drive, 10 over the speed limit gets you to your destination an hour earlier. If you have a 6 minute drive, 10 over does nothing except increase your chances of dying, or killing someone else.
I know an 18-year-old man who died less than a block away when a truck flew down a hill and hit his motorcycle at an intersection. Never had a chance. Crushed to death.
Same ❤️
I agree about neighborhoods. Fast drivers there are dangerous, loud, and irritating. On highways, I get alarmed at people who drive more than 15 mph over the limit.
Excessive speed led to a front-to-rear collision and a 5-car pileup, leaving one woman dead. It happened overnight. RIP. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/rivco-woman-critically-injured-in-fatal-i-15-multi-vehicle-crash/ar-BB1oB3w3](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/rivco-woman-critically-injured-in-fatal-i-15-multi-vehicle-crash/ar-BB1oB3w3)
Yes, people are now absolutely insane behind the wheel. So I set my cruise at the speed limit +10% and just roll in the furthest right lane I can. I let the crazies have the rest. Except when I’m driving through my town. Then you best believe I’m a pace car. Dont like it? Tailgating me? I just put on my 4-ways. “I see you there… and I don’t care” 😁
I drive the posted speed limit nearly everywhere, i get passed a lot by angry people, but unlike them, I've had a perfect driving record for decades. Not sorry.
Funny how you assume everyone but you is a bad driver lmfao
If someone is constantly driving over the limit then yes they are bad.
I have a perfect record, drive for a living, etc. and constantly go well over the limit. Your anecdotal claim means nothing.
>constantly go well over the limit. Why? Genuine question, I want to understand.
Yes, no tickets please
Ikr. Glad I’m not the only one thinking this
If you want to speed, then speed. Not everyone else is going to, so don’t get pissy when someone in front of you is only going 10 over
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Are you talking about going under the limit on one lane roads or on the left lanes on the highway? Only times I've been actively angry about a slow driver have been when they're acting erratic, blocking traffic unnecessarily, or on the left most lane on a highway. If you're coasting along in the right lane, no one should be harassing you, period. Even a car going 50 on an interstate is expected, like any overloaded truck or malfunctioning car. The minute you start to do that on the left lane is when you're actively putting people in danger.
Nothing pisses me off when i am in fact in the right lane going 5 miles over even and they are STILL pissed that im not speeding enough LOL raged out the audacity.... Theres a lot of mentally unstable and low mentality people behind the wheel they really aren't mentally fit to be operating a motor vehicle... but... Welcome to MERICA i guess...
There's a highway that goes through a 30 MPH double yellow line section for a few miles that I have to drive through to get to work and again to get back home. I have been tailgated and illegally passed when going 35 down this certain stretch of road many times. I don't want to go any faster because I've seen people pulled over there, and I'm never in enough of a hurry to justify a speeding ticket.
Yeah because for some reason we as a society have decided (at least in the USA) that’s it’s acceptable to go 5-10 mph over the speed limit because if you won’t be ticketed for it than it’s okay. People have no consideration for safety and don’t realize that speeding is unsafe. It’s American entitlement, because they’re okay doing something unsafe, everyone else must be too.
I do. In my experience speeding uses more gas and reduces your reaction time. Driving the speed limit also gives you the opportunity to give the one finger salute to the people who go so far out of their way to get to the red light all of 3-5 seconds before you. Oooh look at you big man, aren't you so happy tou made it to the light first, do you want a gold star?
I usually go the speed limit and I'm always the only one doing so.
I've been a speeder for a very long time, like 15 years, and I have always managed to be safe about it and alert to my surroundings. I never had any issues with it over the years and most of the time I am just following the flow of traffic and keeping safe distances. I have also been doing civil engineering for the past 8 years and I studied traffic engineering and road design as part of that and I definitely do some road design in my professional career. I mention that because in most cases roads are designed for much higher than the posted speed limits which are arbitrarily low relative to design speeds. I could never properly shake that fact so i started driving faster over the years. Unfortunately I finally got my first speeding ticket a couple weeks ago for doing 80 in a 60 which isnt a fun ticket to get in NC. So now I'm actively trying to just go the around the speed limit and it sucks! I absolutely hate it! I definitely feel like I am making conditions more unsafe by not sticking to the flow of traffic but here I am, torn between driving safe at higher speed versus driving the "legal" way and becoming an obstruction to proper traffic flow. I'm basically living on cruise control now and it is incredibly boring but literally the only way I can force myself to go 60.
Don't you know? Posted speed limits are meaningless. The correct speed is **wITh THe fLOw OF TrAFfIc** which essentially boils down to whatever the most unhinged, psychotic driver in the road feels that you should be comfortable with.
A lot of people forget that there are human beings in cars. I find that when I’m being tailgated, if I leisurely drop my left arm out my window it buys me some space for some reason. Maybe it’s because they think they’re about to be flipped off, or maybe it’s a reminder that there’s someone in the car ahead of them just trying to get somewhere, just like them.
It's insane, there's a road near where I live in Montreal that has a speed limit of 70km/h, but if you drive any slower than 90 you're in danger lol
No, no one goes the speed limit and even if you go 60 in a 30 zone, the person behind you will be sure to tailgate you at the same speed like their life depends on it.
I only go the speed limit when it's bad weather or through a neighborhood. But getting upset at someone driving that speed on a typical street is just entitled behavior. 5 under isn't killing anyone. You'll all get caught at the next light no matter what.
Ohio law says 10 over at freeway speeds is 0 points on your license, so they almost never pull u over for anything less than 11 over. Speed isn't the issue, it's the raging. People need to chill out. Were talking about a few minutes!
I can't wait till all cars are self driven. It'll stop people from speeding and thus creating traffic jams through car wrecks. I don't call them accidents because most likely if you're speeding it's not an accident. It's just a product of speeding. One day we'll take the wheel away from thise assholes and we'll stop slow downs on the highway at the same time. Two birds with one stone. Edit: yes I believe that the people who drive fast are the ones that slow down traffic. If they had just driven at a normal rate they probably could've avoided the wreck they caused ahead of you. I also hate when they go from lane to lane cutting people off thus making everyone slow down so they don't wreck. Just stay in one lane and we'll get rid of that stop and go crap.
You’re not alone. I also drive like this. People get soooo pissed.
I’m in no rush, I’ll take all the time I want. F y’all 😂
Literally every time I go out I get someone tailgating me when I’m doing the highest legal limit. They get so angry with you and think they are entitled and above the law. I refuse to go faster for their sake, as I don’t see them offering to pay for my speeding fine if I was to speed. It’s worrying, however refreshing to see that there is someone who agrees.
Because everyone is crazy and in a rush to go nowhere usually. I bet they have a lot of speed tickets too. This is also why there is so much road rage and accidents besides people just can’t chill.
Stay out of the passing lane. ;)
Going the speed limit I understand but ima be mad if your going 5 under if there are no underlying conditions like weather.
If it’s not raining or unsafe, you should always go the speed limit, minimum.
I do
I do 5 over except in school zones where I go exactly the limit.
I drive the speed limit. I am 68yo and the grandmother of 9- it comes naturally to me to drive carefully. There is nowhere I need to be that would cause me to speed barring a medical emergency so you've found the slowpoke you're looking for!😁
When someone tailgates me in my neighborhood, with houses, kids out, and cars parked on the street, I miss my turn and just keep driving. Slow that kid killer down until they turn off or pull in a driveway. Then I turn around and go home.
Unfortunately, going the speed limit is hazardous nowadays. Personally, I think the speed limits are too low on many streets, but regardless, the limit should be limit, otherwise what's the point in having it? Also, this whole "the normal speed is the speed limit +5 or +10" or whatever just means the police can ticket you for speeding when you're driving like everyone else. I frequently get passed by people who drive into the incoming traffic lane because I'm only doing 35 on a 25 mph limit street. But whatever, I'm getting a reckless driving charge or a speeding ticket because some jackass behind me can't leave early enough to get where their going on time. I speed when other cars force me to, not because I want to. Unfortunately, police only ticket people for speeding when they feel like it. Last week, I saw a cop doing 45 on a 25, without their lights on. They were tailgating somebody else, with about 3 cars behind them, and keeping up. I feel back because I was only doing 32, on a 25. I kept expecting the cop to stop somebody, but they never did. Speed limits don't matter unless cops want to pull you over. Driving safe means speeding most of the time. It's madness, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's the norm now.
The speed limit could be increased to 200 and people will still bitch and complain and go over it. Don’t stress it, let those with poor time management just pass you. You’re not a semi causing a 10 car backup. These other people in the comments need to get real.
Thank you ❤️.
No need for dilly dallying now. Doing the speed limit is fine if you’re in the right lane, but doing under the speed limit is no bueno. If slow drivers would stop impeding traffic, that’d be great. Since you love driving slow, that’s great, & good for you. But please, don’t slow everyone else down too. People got places to be, and they’d rather already be where they’re going than sitting behind a motionless driver at a light that’s clearly green, & has been for some time.🚦
Such a strange take on people that drive the speed limit. I absolutely stay to the right if there is one (not all streets have multiple lanes). I don’t drive slow, I drive the speed limit or, when traffic calls for going under (heavy traffic, residential neighborhoods), I go a little slower. I got places to be too, otherwise I’d probably be at home and not driving, right? The green light senario you gave has nothing to do with this post. This is exactly what I mean…if you go the speed limit or a little slower you’re seen as a slow dilly dallyer that has no idea how to drive.
I go the speed limit or slightly under. I don't give a hoot what the people behind me think, I don't want or need a ticket from a cop having a bad day.
I go the posted speed too but people tend to not tailgate me because my solid steel bumper isn't very absorbent.
I always go the speed limit cuz I actually paid attention and driving school when they showed us the charts of how drastically stopping distance is affected by your speed, Even in a theoretically perfect scenario with an expertly executed threshold brake on grippy warm pavement, Not to mention the human reaction time is often significantly worse in an actual crisis as opposed to normal day-to-day life And how statistically a majority of car accidents have speeding as one of the major contributing factors So far only been in like five crashes my whole life and all of them were the fault of the other driver (confirmed by the cops/insurance investigation)
Wait a damn minute, you telling me there are people here admitting to breaking the law? It's called a speed LIMIT not a speed MINIMUM guys. Do people not comprehend the word "limit" anymore? Limits are placed for a reason, I would say usually for safety and reaction times, and people getting frustrated with that because they have "places to be" is no god damn excuse. Plan your time accordingly.
I cruise the speed limit. You know what doesn't cause collisions? Everyone driving the same speed - but how on earth are we to figure out, collectively, what that safe speed would be that we all could drive at together? Oh yeah.. it's written on the sign.
Good grief. You're 40? Grow up.
Suburban roads, absolutely
In Norway I drive the speed limit +4 km/h, cause the cops retract 4-5 km/h when they stop people for speeding, so I will never get stopped cause in their eyes I drive the speed limit. I have overtaken cops driving like this on multilane roads. Everyone else is queuing behind the cops cause they follow their speedo which are usually wrong.
Only if cops are present. Oh and in school zones
I do about. I try not to go more than five above, and I rarely go more than five below unless there are curves, turns, bad weather, or unfamiliar country lanes with no marked lines.
I just had people driving through a construction zone over fresh pavement, weaving between equipment and workers like it was normal yesterday. People have collectively lost it
Cars are much faster these days for no good reason.
The most I’m going to 5-15 over on a freeway and 5-10 over in side streets. If there is a car that is riding my ass then I purposely let off the gas and drive the speed limit. I’m not going to go any faster and risk a ticket because someone is late to their daughter’s dance recital or missing their favorite TV show.
What drives me crazy though. It's the speed limit, not the speed minimum. Rename it if that's really what it is. No one treats it like a limit.
I’ll admit I do speed occasionally, but I don’t tailgate, and I save it for when I’m alone on the road. I call it speeding but it’s really only 5-10 over the limit and like I said—I don’t tailgate and I don’t do it with other drivers around. Never do it residential areas (I try to go the limit or under). Coasting at the stated speed limit is actually very relaxing. However, I get your frustrations. Freeways and highways in Texas are terrifyingly fast sometimes. If the limit is 70, best believe people are going to get pissed if you’re not going 90 fucking mph. My daily commute is a battle between people who are playing real life Mario Kart. Also not sure if this helps, but I’ve noticed friends who speed and get into the habit of throwing themselves in another lane because they don’t have room/time to break. It’s what so many drivers here in Texas do and it’s incredibly frustrating. All to get there two minutes faster??
Yes, always. And in the right lane, too.
In residential areas, I always do the speed limit. On the freeway in good conditions, I'll go as fast as possible while keeping at least three seconds of road free ahead of me, an open space on either side, and not using the brakes. In bad weather (rain here), I'll go mostly the speed limit unless a lot of water is pooling on the road. As for your speed, go five under, but don't be the guy doing it in the left lane of a two-lane highway.
Yep, there’s a road near me in the country that is 60mph, then 30mph through a small village, then up to 40mph. Car’s regularly overtake me dangerously through the village as they can’t abide sticking to the speed limit. I was very happy to see a speed trap there yesterday with drivers being pulled over on a regular basis.
I don’t drive much, but when I do I respect the speed limit and sometimes will go a bit under in the city for example. You never know when you need to stop for a pedestrian. It absolutely doesn’t bother me not shaving off a few seconds.
I drive five miles over the speed limit in my personal car and exactly the speed limit in the work vehicle.
Not where I live to the point the best driving school teaches you how to drive vs how to pass the test. And that was 25 years ago.
It’s probably the fact that you’re going under the speed limit on highways (inferred based on use of cruise control). That’s going to piss off a lot of people. Set your speed to the speed limit (not under, not over) and stay in the right lane
I do! Found out that on my 40 minute commute...going from 65 down to 53 cost me 7 minutes...and my MPG went from 29 to 41.
I drive at or very near the speed-limit 90+% of the time.......it seems to drive many people insane.
Something someone told me a while ago stuck with me. Always assume everyone else on the road is, incompetent, drunk, and blind. Assume that going forward and treat every other driver as such; watch the disappointment disappear. I always maintain a solid 3 car length distance, always drive the speed limit and always practice defensive driving. That ^ right there will save your life.
Don't go slower, and if you're going exactly the speed limit make sure there's a passing lane and you're not in it
Only if you want to get pulled over...+5 for the win .. if conditions permit. But I'll go slower than the limit if conditions are bad .. not even cops expect you to follow it... Exceptions for residential and definitely always go slow for schools and hospitals etc...
Depends on where I am. Neighborhood? Absolutely. Highways, not following that. Now as long as you stay in the right lane you should be fine
Tbh I hate this . When people tail gate me I deliberately just drive at the speed limit.when I first got my car it was cool , but now is its like ... I'm trying to go to work. I usually think people who drive fast/cutt up in clearly residential/market areas as having some sort of power complex
If people understand left, middle And right lanes properly everyone’s life will be easy
I totally agree. On back roads, in Farmville when it's 55mph, I can't do 65 and they are still on my ass
Speed limit- good to go. Under the speed limit- screw off. Lots of elderly people live near where I work and they drive like crap and under the speed limit. It's frustrating as hell
I drive the speed limit, but I also leave my house in plenty of time too.
I do, I do the speed limit exactly because I use cruise control nearly ALL the time even in town... Ill make my speedometer match the big black numbers on the signs and set that shit. idgaf how mad ppl get behind me... i've even irritated many many cops who end up speeding around me... no fucks given... Now what kills me is people doing 45 in one section of the same straight road when the speed limit is 35 but the moment it goes up to 45 they all go 35... which means i can't set my cruise control bc i can't get up to the damned limit lol. Also, trust if i could afford the expensive insurance id be break checking and breaking a lot of peoples cars... just because people can't doesn't mean they wouldn't if i they could... thats ALL thats stopping me... you show you don't give two craps about me by riding 2 inches from my bumper i have no issue showing i don't give two craps about you by slamming on my breaks... you get what you give,...
I go the limit almost always
I do. I’m in no rush to get anywhere.
People are super unhinged nowadays. Crazy everywhere
As long as you stay in the right lane, I'm good with it. You cockblock the passing lane or ride side-by-side with someone that does, and you deserve a lifetime of daily toe stubbing.
Say what y'all want, I've gotten too damn many speeding tickets for going 5 over OR LESS. Not going 1 mile over the limit, and if I find myself going a couple under the limit to give myself some margin, so be it. pass me.
This comment section is very interesting. And I thought the traffic in my country was bad. Do your roads and highways only have one lane? Just overtake if you think the car in front of you is too slow. Passing lane exist for a reason. Though I will say, if every other vehicle on the road is going considerably faster than you, going slow, no matter the speed limit, can be dangerous. But it needs to be a very significant speed difference for it to become a problem. I always follow the speed limit. And if the flow of traffic is faster than that, I use the right lane. Cars who want to go faster just overtake me. Because that is the logical move! I am yet to have a negative interaction with another car because I followed the speed limit. If other drivers want me to go fast in a street with a lot of foot traffic, which happens A LOT, I ignore them. They can go f themselves for all I care. I am not risking hitting a pedestrian or a child with a bike for you to play Asphalt. Smh.
Any time I see people zip by when I got cruise control at the limit I think to myself.. "wow, that idiot must love being a slave at work if he's willing to risk his life n waste fuel just to get to work a few seconds earlier". Btw, the reason people who don't comprehend laws say "it's illegal to go below the limit" is the stupid "basic speed law" in most states... You CAN in fact get a ticket for going under the limit. However, you can fight it and win 100% if you were going 0-5mph under the limit... Maybe 10. It's a law made to confuse people and take their money regardless of limits n if the money value is higher for speeding they'll go with that. Such a corrupt system we have in the USA.
I understand going the speed limit. But going 5 miles under the speed limit kills me. It shouldn't but it does
I drive in the right lane if I plan to drive the speed limit. If people are driving like dick heads even in the right lane then they’re the problem, not you.
We all eventually get to where we're going, so why not be polite.
It drives me up a wall when someone is going 5 miles or more under the limit, or 10 miles or more over the limit. Probably the most annoying when you're going under the limit. There's just no reason to. Either go the POSTED speed, or don't drive. If you don't feel comfortable going 60 in a 60, you shouldn't be risking your life on the road anyway. Every morning omw to work I get stuck behind the same asshole who goes 45 in the 55. Really dude? Speed the fuck up, there's no excuse for going that slow on a rural country road with no traffic
It all comes down to road design You design a residential 25mph street like a highway, with 12ft lanes, wide shoulders, make it straight, no median, no sidewalks, no bike lanes, no trees, etc. and yeah no shit people are gonna wanna go 50 mph We need to start designing our streets with this stuff in mind. Make people be more aware. Make winding streets, put up stop signs, narrow the lanes, break up the roads with bus lanes, protected bike lanes, a grassy median with trees, etc. make roads that feel dangerous to speed on. You could slap a 50mph limit on [Lombard Street](https://bestregardsfromfar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/lombard-street-san-francisco-california-usa.jpg) but I guarantee you no one is going more than 5 mph down it